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Focus Areas
At the HPI, our goal is to help communities of color identify short and long term policy objectives and related activities in seven focus areas.
Determinants of Health
Identify and address the economic, social, environmental, and behavioral determinants that can lead to improved health outcomes.Prevention & Health Promotion
Increase resource allocations for disease prevention, health promotion, and the effective management of chronic disease.Infant Mortality
Inform the policy and practice of reducing infant mortality and improving child and maternal health outcomes in communities of color.Supporting Youth
Reduce risk factors and support healthy behaviors among children and youth of color.Mental Health
Improve mental health and reduce factors that promote violence in communities.Healthcare
Optimize healthcare access and quality in communities of color.Healthy Aging
Create conditions for healthy aging and improve the quality of life for seniors.
This focus area is high priority because many disorders are caused by multiple determinants of health, only some of which are “biomedical factors.” Many of these important determinants of health—behavior, social, environmental, and economic—have not been adequately addressed as health issues. And, many of them have an especially important impact on communities of color.
Factors that are included in each of these determinants of health are: Behavioral - nutrition, smoking, physical activity, substance abuse, risk-taking behaviors, and sexual behaviors; Social - families, peers, communities, social norms, and racism; Environmental - homes, workplaces, air quality, water quality, sewage disposal, and noise; Economic - income, poverty, employment, unemployment, and savings and other assets.
This focus area is a priority because health care by itself will never be enough to ensure good health. When compared to white, many minorities are disproportionately affected by multiple risk factors and by preventable and chronic diseases caused by those risk factors. For example: diabetes - twice the rate among minority groups; and prostate cancer - twice the death rate among black males.
This is a critical area of focus for the HPI since infant mortality rates continue to be an intractable problem for the U.S., in general, and for minorities in this country, in particular. African Americans still have relatively high infant mortality rates. Teen pregnancy rates are also high for many minority populations. African Americans have a higher rate of single-parent families, headed primarily by women.
This focus area is crucial since behavioral choices affect as many as 40 percent of premature deaths in our nation. The rates of obesity, already high for blacks and Hispanics, are increasing more rapidly for those minority groups. Physical activity, which is correlated with obesity, is pursued at a higher rate by white, followed by Hispanics, and then blacks.
Tobacco initiation and use among youth is still high and so is substance abuse, especially among some communities of color. And, violence in some communities of color, especially in poverty neighborhoods in inner cities, is unacceptably high.
This focus area is very important since for the millions of adults and children who are overwhelmed by a few or many risk factors, many get physically sick, but many others turn inward (in depression) or lash out (in anger and violence). These emotional and behavioral responses can lead to efforts to self-medicate, for example, with food, alcohol, prescription drugs (leading to misuse), and other drugs (leading to abuse). And, self-medication can lead to or exacerbate other problems, such as obesity, addiction, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, and physical ailments and diseases.
This is another critical area of focus for the Health Policy Institute because despite the efforts of most people to stay healthy, they do, often get sick and need health care. And, minorities have poorer access to health care services and third-party coverage. Seventy percent of white have workplace health insurance, but only 50 percent of blacks and 45 percent of Hispanics have such coverage.
This focus area is important since health and public health policies, programs, and funding have tended to focus mostly on children and the elderly. Focusing more intently on health aging in the middle and the early stages of the later years of life may pave the way for healthier adults and a higher quality of life for the very elderly.
To create conditions for healthy aging and improve the quality of life for the very elderly there is a need to focus especially on such behaviors such as smoking, substance abuse, nutrition, physical activity, and regular medical check-ups.
It is also important to recognize that supportive environments and social norms, in communities that continue to provide meaningful roles of those who are growing older, can also contribute to healthier aging.